The walters step over

Pretty much my thoughts as well tbh. If we'd finished just outside top four but looked on the right track nobody would be even contemplating replacing him but we've been so far off the pace it's shocking. Capello did an interview the other day saying that he wants a go at club management over here, out of the clubs you'd expect him to be interested in then there's probably only us and Chelsea that are likely to have vacancies. Might give some credibility to the theory that the players have known Kennys off and have downed tools early.

Agree with this, I can't think of any teams over the last 20 years or so that built gradually year on year, adding one or two players a season and then gone on to win the league from a starting position of 8th/9th. It generally happens (from nowhere to challengers/title winners) over two seasons or it doesn't happen at all. Newcastle are doing well because they are getting the best out of most of their squad and are playing a system/style that suits, I'd add Spurs as another club that for a couple of years at least weren't spending anything like we have recently but played to somewhere near their potential. I love kenny to bits (which shouldn't have to be said, but there you go) but in my honest opinion I just can't see it happening under Kenny. Obviously I hope I'm wrong but we're not going to be in the market for the top end game changers this summer so we need to be very clever in the market and then in the season play in a way that brings out the best in what we have. Sad as it is to say, I don't think that Kennys shown enough over the last 18 months to show that he can do that.

They've done nothing so far to indicate that at all. We've spent more over the last 18 months then at any similar time period in the clubs history. A lot of that came from Torres but if they were just after a quick buck then they could have easily have kept a large portion of that fee. You could easily look at it in a positive way and say that they've decided these people weren't the best they could get and have started the process of getting in the staff they want. Like someone else has pointed out, letting a fringe player leave the club would save a hell of a lot more than a few background bods. from the G+H regime where we were scrimping and saving to bring in players we swung the polar opposite and wasted huge amounts of money and imo if they're doing a root and branch clear up to get a firmer grip on things then it's no bad thing and will make for a healthier club overall.

My guess is that Redknapps pissed someone off at the FA in the past and this is their revenge. Hodgson will do what Sven and Capello didn't and laugh at their jokes in the morning, not cause a fuss if one of his players gets banned and generally just be one of them. The fact they've let this come out on the morning of the biggest league game for years tells it's own story.

Have you any confidence that the management at the club have the network for finding these players? Personally, I have my doubts, the obvious question would be if they do have a large database full of promising young continental players and the contacts needed to sign them then why the feck did we waste so much money on playing safe with British based players? I know that you'll come back with "it was Comolli" because for some reason saying that kenny had little to no input on signing players is preferable to saying that he ballsed things up but imo there's more chance of us signing, or at least going for Milner,Johnson and Defoe then there is of us signing dead boss young player from France. Pessimistic, i know but managers tend not to do complete u-turns in the working methods and i honestly can't see why if kenny has a good knowledge of who's out there he wouldn't have put that into practice last year.

I'd put my mortgage on it being the usual nonsense rumours that float around Anfield. Kenny went into a meeting to sort out Rooneys agent situation with one of the biggest gangsters in the country, no offence to your guy that "knows a guy who is in the know" but I can't see him being bullied out of doing anything by Comolli - can you?

I would hope that it's mostly cosmetic "we're listening to the fans" sort of stuff without the inconvenience of being asked about ticket distribution/prices or anything even slightly meaningful which they'd have if they had meetings with supporters groups. I would imagine Henry and the board will know full well what they are going to do in the summer. It's going to be interesting because they got us on the cheap and while CL is the stated aim (and obviously, the ideal) I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they could be looking at it and working out the minimum they need to put in until the economy recovers and they can sell for a nice big profit. I'm not saying they're liars or anything like that,or that this is what they'll do - but if I was in charge of a baseball team and didn't really care either way that's how I'd look at things. They've put the ultimate legend in charge so they know they'll not be criticised, is it worth it to them to pile in more money that might be wasted when they could just maintain a level where we're 6/7/8 in the league and t6ake their wedge out as and when they want? Just top of my head,what if?stuff and almost certainly b*llocks mind you..

I don't think that's going to happen, tbh. I just can't see the board looking at the money spent last year and the results this season and then saying "have another go and hopefully things will be better this time". You don't have the league season we've had unless something is fundamentally wrong with the organisation/management of the team.

Then don't post links to this sort of shyte then. Imo it doesn't serve any purpose except giving more ammunition to the kn*bs like him that will look on forums, see the odd post like "hope the c*nt dies" and see that as justification of their views. I know it's hard to do but reacting like that is counter productive and the divvys giving it loads on twitter just makes the people that think "no smoke without fire" more entrenched in their views.

The problem with using Ferguson to argue that a manager needs time is that he's pretty much the only one where that argument stands up.There's nobody else that has had that amount of time at a top club without mounting a serious title challenge and still kept their job. If Fergusons name wasn't allowed to be mentioned in these discussions the argument becomes "he needs more time because maybe things will be better next year." I would imagine that it's likely that Kenny will be in charge next season but we need a transfer window that's a hell of a lot better than the last two if we are to move forward.

Reading through this thread though, it seems to me as though there are some that a bit too touchy and seem to want to jump to Kennys defence no matter what. it'll make absolutely f*ck all difference to him what some random people on the internet say about his buying policy/lack of Maxi use, so I honestly don't see why others should get so worked up. We all want the same thing.

It would make sense if they'd had a big, f*ck off row and he did the "back me or sack me" routine. You are right though, you'd hope that they know what they're doing instead of flailing around asking the biggest names they can think of advice on what to do next.

Agree with this, jumping on somebodys head because they criticise selection or buying policy basically nullifies what a forum is supposed to be about. We all want Kenny to succeed - why would any Liverpool supporter not want him to? But can anyone say that he honestly hasn't made mistakes? someone pointing that out doesn't make them a lesser fan.

I'd go back 20 years almost, from the point where they rushed into appointing Souness when Kenny was giving them the nod that he would've come back that Summer, for me from that moment on we haven't had solid idea of what the club was actually trying to do in terms of planning the future.

Ther were a few articles last year by the likes of Barrett and others that were saying that their ideal was to have a bright young manager with Commolli doing the heavy lifting when it comes to player recruitment. FSG were apparently desperate for Hodgson to get to the end of the season so they would have time to appoint their own manager to fit in with this model. I've no insider info at all, but it looks to me as though FSG have spoken to potential managers, been told that anyone coming in would want their own scouting network in place, and decided that there was no point keeping Commoli any longer.

Agree with this, it's fine for someone to sit behind a computer and say "f*** the media" but if Kenny is sarky with them all the time then we we do have genuine complaints about decisions going against us it's just going to be put down to Kenny doing his usual. I can remember him from his first time here having massive arguments with Jimmy Hill and after one match (I think it might have been a live game), Kenny ended up saying something along the lines of Hill should be more worried with what he looks like than what's going on at LFC. Completely childish and pointless but we were the best team in Europe at the time so nothing really came of it, times have changed and imo Kenny isn't doing himself any favours going on one all the time. Times have changed, it doesn't matter if you like it or not but the media has a huge say in football these days, the way stories can be spun for/against you, giving interviews to favoured journalists are things that modern football clubs have to take into account. Personally, I think Kenny has come across as childish at times this season and yes Ferguson can be a pr8ck with the media but he does it from a position of strength - when you're the manager of a club that has had the season we've had then imo you have a responsibility to let the fans know what you're doing to turn things around. If he can't bring himself to do that then just refuse to do interviews, what's the point of getting the medias backs up when it comes to our club? I know the main response on here is going to be "utter shyte, Kenny can say what he wants, f*ck the press" but if you think about it logically, if you were the owners seeing the money spent as it has been and the aim of CL football nowhere near to being achieved would you look favourably on your manager going off on one semmingly on a weekly basis? To me, it justs looks like someone under pressure lashing out and it'll count against him when everyone sits down to see how we go forward next season.

I disagree, we could play brilliantly and lose to a dodgy decision or win the cup on a penalty shoot-out having stank the place out - we could easily have lost to Cardiff, for example - either way it's too short term in which to make such an important decision. When they have their sit down the board will ask Kenny what went so badly wrong in terms of signings/results last year and what would be different this summer.Imo, whether he keeps his job or not will depend solely on the answers he gives not what happens at Wembley. I disagree about rafa as well, even though we were terrible at times that season, we had shown enough to know exactly how we would look in terms of team shape/tactics - ally that to Rafas recent record at Valencia and there was every reason to believe that our league form was going to get better with the more experience he gained from English football. Without going over old ground, a lack of recent managerial experience is one of the things that counts against Kenny.

You'd imagine if it was good news "we've signed..." or "the new stadium.." then they'd have wanted to release it before the match to put everyone in a good mood. If it were "kennys out in the summer" then what would be the point of announcing it early? I'd put my mortgage on the board having already made the decision on Kennys future. One game shouldn't make the difference, so imo the RAWK thing is just a way of getting a few people hanging on his every word for a week or so.

Didn't Beardsley score for Everton in Kennys last game?

Beardsley, alledgedly due to his wife not getting allong with marina.. As for Carra, it's been done to death on here about how our style of play becomes more negative to accommodate his lack of pace/hoofs up the pitch but I can see why Kenny would want to try and play it safe with Carras experience rather than throwing a young lad in with the run we're on. Similarly, I don't blame Carragher for playing the 'arl a*** with his contract, he'll probably feels that he still has a lot to offer and he's noty getting anything he doesn't deserve. iirc, he did an interview with The Times about 6 months ago whereby he said that he was upset that people criticised his passing ability as in his opinion that was a strong part of his game so you can guarantee that to his mind he's just going through a blip.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion,etc, but imo if Kenny himself heard anyone say that out loud he'd tear them a new one. Question for you, if someone guaranteed CL qualification next year but the price was Kenny steeping down in the summer, would you take it? Everyone's entitled to their opinion,etc, but imo if Kenny himself heard anyone say that out loud he'd tear them a new one. Question for you, if someone guaranteed CL qualification next year but the price was Kenny steeping down in the summer, would you take it?

Not being harsh or anything, but what mitigating factors has there been to excuse the signings? In terms of continuity I'd say that we've been very patient with managers as a whole over the last 20 years, and imo it's been to the detriment of the club with Houllier and Evans in particular being given "one more season to see what happens". looking on the forums, when people argue that Kenny should stay on next year they're not using arguments along the lines of "We can see what shape he's trying to play, or the players just need time to adapt to the system, so let's give him more time to evolve the team". The argument is "it's Kenny".

How far are people willing to twist and turn to lay everything on Commollis shoulders? O.K. let's absolve Kenny of all the signings, what about style of play..whose fault is that? I used to pretend to be Kenny when I was a kid playing in the park, I don't want him to fail and I don't like seeing him criticised but all this contortion isn't doing anyone any good. If a new man starts the season is he going to have to put up with kennys name being sung at him because some can't get over the fact that one of their hero's isn't an infallible superman? It's almost guaranteed that if he's sacked/mutually agreed then the board are going to have to put up with the usual death threats/abusive mail. And still no one has answered the question of why, if Kenny is out of the loop and these players/fees have little to do with him, has the likes of Hansen, Barrett,etc..not come out letting the fans know?

You're saying the same things over and over whilst at the same time ignoring the obvious questions that arise if your theory were true, mainly: - Do you believe that Kenny is so weak willed that he can be railroaded into signings he doesn't want to make? - For the "caretaker manager" bit to work then you have to forget that A) Kenny has been an advisor to the club for a long(ish) time so how much out of the loop could he have been? And B) that it IS actually possible to complete a transfer from start to finish within a day, we see it all the time on deadline day, so why wouldn't Kenny have pklayed a big part in the transfer having been in the managers chair for weeks by the time it happened? Why is it so hard for you to believe that the manager of a football club has a big say in the transfer policy of the club? Do you think that it's possible that a man that had been out of the game for years may not have the contacts he once did, and would want to buy from a league he knows well? And again, with the bad run we're on don't you think that if Kenny wasn't fully behind player recruitment we would've heard about it by now?

Of course he bloody can!! If he can't then what is he doing still at the club? If you're right and Kenny has gone to the owners and presented the owners with a list of players he was after but got shot down by Commolli do you really think that the likes of Hansen and lawrensen wouldn't have used their media platforms to point this out at some stage?